Alumnae
Association Essay Contest Asks, “What Changed Your
Life?”

Have
you had an “Aha!” learning experience—a moment
in which you saw something in a new and clearer way, and after
which your life was never quite the same? If so, the Alumnae
Quarterly wants to know about it.

For its second annual essay contest topic, the Alumnae Association invites members
of the MHC community to write about their most pivotal learning experiences.
Writers are encouraged to interpret “learning” broadly, to cover
pivotal experiences in and outside of a classroom. The writing contest is open
to MHC students, faculty, staff, and alumnae.

The winner will receive $500, and her or his essay will be published in the spring
2005 Alumnae Quarterly. The second-place essayist will receive $250, and essays
earning honorable mention will be given noncash prizes. Essays by runners-up
will be published on the Alumnae Association’s Web site.

Avice A. Meehan ’77, chair of the committee that conceived the contest,
says it aims to showcase the power of ideas. “Mount Holyoke is—and
always has been—a community of independent, critical thinkers who connect
the work of the academy to the concerns of the world. The Quarterly is excited
to offer a forum for students, alumnae, faculty, and staff to voice their diverse
perspectives on a theme
that reflects intellectual vigor and leadership.”

Essays should be 500 to 1,000 words long, must not
have been published, and must
be received no later than October 15. Judges will evaluate entries for content
and writing style, considering the writer’s status (as student, alumna,
faculty, or staff member). Writers’ names will be removed before judging.

To submit an essay, email it to eweir@mtholyoke.edu or send it by campus mail
to Emily Weir at the Alumnae Association, Mary Woolley Hall. Your name, class
year or faculty/staff status, and email or phone number must accompany the entry;
entries will not be returned.